BY TEAM FORD RACING CORRESPONDENT

Fort Worth, Texas — A highly placed source within NASCAR said that changes to the format for the 2007 running of the Chase for the Nextel Cup will not be announced until January, probably during the annual Lowe’s Motor Speedway Media Tour.

Although the official did not disclose specific changes, there is widespread sentiment among teams and drivers that race winners ought to receive a higher bonus than the 10-point margin a winner now receives compared to second-place finishers.

Another, though considerably more controversial, option would be to score the drivers in The Chase separately than the other 33 cars in each race. Thus, the highest-finishing Chaser would get 10 points, while the driver who finishes last would receive just 1 point.